December 16-17, Worshipping Jesus. We can worship Jesus as the long-awaited Rescuer! Luke 1-2; Luke 2:20

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1 December 16-17, 2017 Worshipping Jesus Luke 1-2; Luke 2:20 We can worship Jesus as the long-awaited Rescuer! Connect Time (15 minutes): Five minutes after the service begins, split kids into groups and begin their activity. Large Group (30 minutes): Begin 20 minutes after the service starts. Model what it looks like to be engaged in large group. Small Group (15 minutes): Keep kids in small groups until parents arrive. If you all have extra time at the end, you can review the video and songs together As kids leave, ask them why they made a starry sky!

2 GOAL: Connect Time is all about engaging kids in an activity that allows them to connect with each other right away, while simultaneously piquing their curiosity for Large Group and preparing their minds for what they re going to hear. MAGI, MAGI, STAR! Divide kids into groups of and have them sit in a circle (It s okay if the group is larger or smaller, whatever works best for your room!) We re playing a special version of Duck, duck, goose! Choose one kid to be it and give them a large gold star. They have to walk around the circle, touch each kid s head with the star as they pass (gently!), and call them Magi. When the it kid calls someone star, they have to drop the star, and the kid who was chosen picks it up and chases it around the circle, trying to tag them before they sit down in their spot. If the Star does not tag the it, they become the new it. Tell kids to try and tag someone who has not been chosen yet, so that everyone one gets a turn! TALK ABOUT IT What s the best gift you ve ever gotten? Why do we give gifts to people?

3 Today we re watching two story videos! Saddleback Kids / The Story of Christmas (The Shepherds): Saddleback Kids / The Story of Christmas (The Wise Men): WELCOME AND INTRO Main Goal: Review Connect Time and introduce the lesson. Notes: *Click to play intro music. Say: Hey everybody! Welcome to Kids Club. We re so glad to have you here! Did you have fun playing that game? (Let kids respond.) I bet so. You went around the circle and called others wise men. Have you ever heard that word? (Let kids respond.) Say: In our story today, we re going to hear about 3 wise men who gave some really special gifts to Jesus! Before we get started, let s talk a bit more about gifts. Have you ever been excited about getting a gift before? (Let kids respond.) My favorite gift I ever got was (Share an example with kids.) Say: Now these wise men, how do you think they knew about Jesus? (Let kids respond.) Those are good answers. They knew...because God SPOKE to them! Ask: Did you know that God speaks to us? (Let kids respond.) It s pretty cool, isn t it? He speaks to us in lots of ways, and today we ll see how he spoke to lots of different people. But first, let s review what we ve been hearing about Christmas!

4 CHRISTMAS REVIEW Main Goal: Review the main events of Christmas to set up the rest of the lesson. Notes: GOD SPEAKS TO THE SHEPHERDS Main Goal: See how God speaks to the shepherds, and how they worshipped in return! Notes: Say: We ve been talking about how God s family was waiting for hundreds of years for the king God promised. And finally, an angel told a woman named Mary that she had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus, the Rescuer! Say: A few months later, she and her husband Joseph took a long trip to Bethlehem. Let s all put our feet on the ground and pretend to take a long walk. (Let kids respond.) When they got there, Jesus was born outside with animals! Even though it was a strange entrance, the king was finally here. Say: We ve talked a lot about what happened before Jesus was born, and how he came into the world. But today, we ll hear more about what happened AFTER Jesus arrived, and it all involves God speaking to people! Say: Now let s see if you can guess who the the FIRST people were to hear the news about Jesus. They worked out in the fields...taking care of sheep they were (Let kids respond.) Yep, a group of shepherds, and they got to hear about Jesus being born before anyone else! Say: Let s watch a video and see how it happened. As you watch, figure out how God spoke to them. Video: The Story of Christmas (Shepherds) Ask: So how did God speak to the shepherds? (Let kids respond.) Yep, through angels in the sky! And what did the shepherds do when the angels told them about baby Jesus s birth? (Let kids respond.) Yes, they were SO excited! They were rejoicing and celebrating, and they ran to see him as fast as they could! Let s all lift our hands in the air and give a big Yippee! (Let kids respond.) Say: There s another really important thing that happened AFTER they saw Jesus. Let s see what it is in this verse: Slide: Luke 2:20

5 GOD SPEAKS TO THE WISE MEN Main Goal: See how God spoke to the wise men, and they worshipped Jesus with gifts and praise. GOD SPEAK TO US TOO! Main Goal: Understand that God speaks to us, just like he spoke to the shepherds and wise men! Say: Now let s talk about the wise men, or magi. Can you say, Magi? (Let kids respond.) Let s watch a video and see what happened when God spoke to them. Pay attention to the unusual way they hear from him! Video: The Story of Christmas (Wise Men) Say: So how did God speak to the magi? What did he show them? (Let kids respond.) Yeah, he led them to Jesus with a star in the sky! (Loop: Starry sky let play as long as you want.) Let s all imagine we re the magi, and we re looking up at the stars. (Physically look up while loop plays.) Can you imagine wanting to see Jesus and worship him SO much that you traveled and walked over mountains and across deserts for months and months? Well that s what they did. And once they found Jesus, they worshipped in a really special way. What did they do? (Let kids respond.) Say: They gave him special gifts! It was their way of telling him that he deserves to be worshipped and celebrated. Say: All these groups of people the shepherds and the wise men God spoke to all of them, and they worshipped him! Does God speak to us too? (Let kids respond.) He sure does, and we can worship him for that. We don t have to walk for months and months, or deal with angry kings; we can just stop right here and praise Jesus. Say: Anywhere we are, we can tell Jesus we love him or sing to him or dance for him or bow to him. We can even give him gifts by giving money to help the poor, or by giving our time to help somebody we love. (Loop: Confetti.) Imagine being at a birthday party, and you re celebrating your friend. How do you show your excitement? (Let kids respond.) Do you sing, throw confetti, give them presents, and just ACT really excited for them? (Let kids respond.) Yes! And we can do the same with God. We can sing to him, tell him out loud how much we love him. We can focus just on him, just like we would focus on someone at their birthday! Say: Let s take a minute to worship Jesus on our own, and then we ll worship him together. First, close your eyes (Pause.) Now, in your own way, silently tell Jesus what you love most about him. (Let kids respond.) Now let s pray together and then we ll have some fun worshipping!

6 PRAYER AND WORSHIP Main Goal: Close the lesson with prayer and worship. Pray: Jesus, we worship you as our rescuer. Thank you for coming to the world and saving us. Help us to be closer to you, and worship you always. Amen! Set up worship: Now it s time to celebrate! First, we re going to watch a Christmas music video, and you can stay seated for this one (but if you really want to dance, do it!) Music Video: Born is the King Say: Now let s ALL stand up and dance to this new Christmas song! Music Video: Feelin Like Christmas Dismiss kids to small groups.

7 Goal: Kids will (1) understand how God spoke to people before, during and after Jesus birth, (2) recognize that God speaks to us and (3) identify how we can give our worship to Jesus. Why? There s a clear pattern in the Christmas story God speaks, and people worship him in response! Tip: Make sure you ve got enough glue sticks and scissors for your group! REVIEW THE STORY 1. Who told the shepherds about Jesus? (Angels.) What did they do when they found out? (They rejoiced and ran to see baby Jesus; then they worshipped him again when they went home.) 2. How did God lead the magi/wise men to Jesus? (He led them to Jesus with a star.) What did they give Jesus? (Gifts; gold, frankincense and myrrh.) 3. What does it mean to worship Jesus? (Focus on him/spend time with him, tell him how wonderful he is, give him thanks and praise, celebrate him.) 4. What are some ways we can worship Jesus? (Here are some hints to help kids think of things: spend time with just him, pray, sing, dance, give gifts, bow, tell Jesus why we love him, read the Bible, obey/follow him, help others, thank him, etc.) MAKE IT PERSONAL We re going to create a night time scene of the wise men following the star in the sky! Set out markers, scissors and glue sticks. Then give each kid: A wise men image A black piece of paper A white crayon Let kids color and cut out their wise men image. Then they can glue it onto their black paper, and use the white crayons to create a night sky full of stars. Then let them place 1 gold star sticker somewhere in the sky, to symbolize the star God sent to lead the wise men to Jesus! If there s room, tape the paper to the bottom of a table or the wall. Have kids lay under it or in front of it, and tell kids to pretend they are magi sleeping under the stars. Extra time? Do a coloring sheet. Then, play Christmas Pictionary! It s Pictionary, but with Christmas-related images, like tree, ornament, star, candy cane, etc.!

8 K-2nd December 16/17, 2017 Tell me about the wise men and shepherds. How can we worship Jesus? Connect Time Item Usage Details Provided by Large gold star 1 per group, reused Oriental Trading, Item #IN-70/1154 KC National Large Group Item Usage Details Provided by Adventure Bible for Early Readers 1 per large group, reused BiblesbytheCase.com Small Group Item Usage Details Provided by Coloring Page - Wise Men 1 per kid Page 9, white paper, black & white Glue sticks 1 set per group, reused Scissors 1 set per group, reused Markers 1 set per group, reused Black paper 1 per kid Gold star sticker 1 per kid Amazon, Gold Star Sticker KC National White crayons 1 per kid, reused Rainbow Resource, Item # KC National Wise men image 1 per kid 8.5x11 paper, black&white, cut into quarter sheets, Page 10 Discount School Supply, Item #9CPBK KC National

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11 K-2nd Song slide: for when kids enter the room (All that You Need instrumental; mp3 only; can be downloaded on web) Video: Saddleback Kids / The Story of Christmas (The Shepherds)(0:28-end; Slide: Luke 2:20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. Video: Saddleback Kids / The Story of Christmas (The Wise Men)( Loop: Confetti ( make repeating) Loop: Starry Sky ( make repeating) Music Video: Born is the King ( Music Video: Feelin Like Christmas (